The Revelation
The Revelation was the single most defining event in the history of the world. Prior to the Revelation, religions were largely based on superstition, reverence of life giving forces, and the results of clerics and paladins deriving divine powers from what was assumed to be a large variety of religions. This changed with the Revelation, as The Mad Twins descended from the heavens, revealing themselves to the mortal world as the only true gods. In doing so they created the Soul Beacon to serve as a reminder of their existence, and decreed the one law of heaven. The law of heaven states that any person who commits murder will be barred from heaven. The law has since been clarified by the Attendants to exclude killing enemy solidiers during wars, as a matter of self defense, or a religious killing, though The Mad Twins do not request religious killings happen. The Mad Twins The Mad Twins, Detagi and Nyanners, are the dual gods who rule the world. They are commonly depicted as either brother and sister, or as lovers. The Attendants have been questioned as to which of these are correct, however the only answer that has ever been given is "Yes". They make regular appearances in the world, often electing to come down and check upon the Soul Beacon, though it is not unknown for them to wander the land, and sometimes they have been known to adopt disguises and pretend to be mortals for a time. The erratic and inconsistent behavior of The Mad Twins is what has lead to their name, a name they appear to find amusing, and so allow to continue. Detagi Detagi is the brother of The Mad Twins. He is the most active of the twins, making use of his godly powers the most commonly. For this reason it is assumed that Detagi is the one who did the majority of the work in the creation of the world. He is also the one who will generally express The Mad Twins stance on a matter. In doing so his viewpoint is wildly erratic, varying from total condemnation of murder, to a half-hearted claim that murder is bad and you shouldn't do it, though there are many cases where it's okay. Stories relating to mortals encountering Detagi vary in his personality wildly, with him sometimes being the kindest and wisest man, and other times leaving him impulsive, hardheaded and childish. For this reason the presence of Detagi is largely feared, and it universally agreed things are better when he stays out. Nyanners Nyanners is the sister of The Mad Twins. In contrast to Detagi she appears to be largely along for the ride, following Detagi around as he performs his godly actions, and only very rarely making use of her power. Nyanners is even more erratic than Detagi, swinging wildly between sadistic and spiteful, cursing mortals with immense pain over the tiniest slight, to unimaginable kindness, and freeing people, or entire groups of people from disaster. While being erratic, Nyanners is also very emotional, and discussions with her when in mortal form have indicated she has a great love for the mortals. This love is often the driving force behind her cruelty, as she is so hurt by the slight, she deems it necessary to teach the offender gratitude for the works The Mad Twins have done. The Attendants The Attendants are the divine beings who attend to the needs and desires of The Mad Twins. Not all of them obey The Mad Twins, with those that don't being cast out, but not stripped of their powers. As such the cast out Attendants wander the world, serving the antagonize the desires of The Mad Twins. Faldir, the Gate Keeper Faldir is the Attendant who stands outside the Gate of the Soul Beacon. He serves to judge the dead who seek entry into heaven, granting access to those who have not committed murder, and denying those who have, forcing them to wander the world forever. Rarlene, the Mistress of Justice Rarlene serves the purpose of empowering paladins. She floats through the world in an ethereal form, finding mortals who would make for good paladins and planting the calling within them. If they answer the call, she oversees their vows, and grants them the powers they need. She is in many ways all present, and nothing escapes her. She also decides which paladins fall and which do not. This decision is not based upon the whims of Rarlene, but the vows made by a paladin to obtain their power. Merasil, the Lord of Faith Merasil serves a similar purpose to Rarlene, instead focusing upon the clerics of the world. He does not judge a person by the nature of their belief, but rather the conviction of it. Those who possess such faith that they are worthy of the powers of a cleric are granted such power. Merasil takes on many guises, seeming to the cleric as the power he worships. Merasil is an obscure figure in religion, and many people are not aware of his existence. Those that are aware but follow a different belief do not generally care, as they are not serving their deity because of the deity personally but rather the values or principles they represent. Terrasque, the Punisher The Terrasque is the monster that swims around the continent. It is the first of the fallen Attendants, and it aims to prevent the citizens of the continent from leaving. It achieves this with it's eteral circuit of the world, crushing ships that are moving too far off the coast. In the wake of the Terrasque come monsters that fall off it's body as it swims. Most of these are large sea monsters that serve to create a further barrier around the continent, preventing people from leaving. The fins of the Terrasque stick far above the water, and as it swims they flick back and forth, propelling monsters from the fins great distances. Many of them wind up on the land of the continent, where they cause trouble. On very rare occasions the Terrasque elects to come to ground. When it does, everything in it's path is destroyed. Linrena, the Trickster Linrena lives to antagonize Rarlene and Merasil. While they grant divine powers to those of justice and faith, Linrena works in opposition to them, stealing divine power to grant it to those who are unworthy. Those who take the power of Linrena become Blackguards. To the world they seem evil, and many who seek Linrena's help are evil, though it is not unknown for good natured people to seek out her powers. Those that do often become corrupted by the power, and it is a rare blackguard who is not cruel and twisted. Vudhis, the Tunneler Vudhis aims to undermine the Soul Beacon, literally. Since his exile hundreds of years ago he has done nothing but dig into the mountain, aiming to open a path to the Soul Beacon. He is yet to succeed, as the Soul Beacon is protected by an impenetrable wall as far down as he has dug so far. Despite this, Vudhis continues to dig, in the hopes that one day all people may enter heaven, and anarchy may reign on earth.